LOOSELY translated into English from Hausa, the indigenous language of the Sahel region of Africa, 'Boko Haram' means 'Western education is forbidden'.

Yet English does not possess strong enough words to condemn the vile actions of the Nigerian jihadists that carry that name.

Of course, it is the recent capture and abduction of around 287 girls from a boarding school in the north eastern Nigerian town of Chibok that has finally brought Boko Haram the global infamy it craves.

Goaded by sickening taunts from its leader, Abubakar Shekau, about selling the girls as slaves, the world has responded with offers of solidarity, aid and military assistance in order to #BringBackOurGirls.

For the people of Nigeria, however, Boko Haram is not a new menace. Founded by the radical Islamic cleric Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, its ultimate goal is a separate Sharia state in the north of the country.

Yet even by the despicable standards of terrorism, it is a particularly vicious organisation with a penchant for targeting its brutality on the most innocent of victims.

Whether it is 2011's bombing of the UN headquarters in Abuja, or the mass burning of rural villages near their Sambisa forest hideouts earlier this year, it has repeatedly shown that no target is regarded off limits and no violence considered too barbaric for advancing its doctrine of hate.

Boko Haram detests every custom it associates with Western society, from democracy all the way to the wearing of trousers.

However, it is its hostility to our educational values that provides its organising ideal. And whilst there is no doubt that this animus extends to the education of boys too, one cannot help but notice that once again it is young women who are the principal targets for such cruelty.

Back in October 2012, the world was similarly outraged by the Taliban's attempted execution of Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Pakistan's Swat valley, just because she dared to speak up for her right to a good education.

Yet that incident was part of a persistent bombing campaign which saw the Taliban attack close to 400 schools – something that received far less attention before Malala's courageous stand.

Indeed, the uncomfortable truth is that the global fight for equality in education is far more widespread than we might imagine. In 2012 alone, education was the target of political, ideological, sectarian or religiously motivated attacks in no less than 31 countries. And in the vast majority of cases, there was a disgusting focus on stopping young women from being educated.

Therefore, if nothing else, these horrific abductions must focus international attention on a renewed push to spread the liberating potential of education to every one of the 57 million children currently denied access to the most basic of schooling.

After all, universal learning by 2015 was one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

But at the current rate of progress, this target will not be reached until 2086.

Rightly, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been making this a priority in his new role at the United Nations, focusing on female education.

And so while the global spotlight lands on the issue of ensuring girls have the right to study, we should also remind ourselves of the challenges we face in the UK.

And the role which education has to play in challenging the 'everyday sexism' still depressingly common in our society.

There is the imbalance in young women studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects.

Only 20 per cent of A-level physics students are female, while the percentage of women fellows at the Institution of Civil Engineers is a staggeringly low 1.5 per cent.

In a shocking survey, the Girl Guides have suggested that the majority of 13 year olds had experienced sexual harassment in the playground, while 87 per cent of 16 to 21-year-olds believed young women were judged more on their appearance than their ability.

Of course, the priority first and foremost has now to be the safe return of these innocent, studious, terrified young Nigerian girls.

And, in the aftermath, a renewed determination among governments in both the developed and developing world for young women to receive the education and opportunities they deserve.

It is both a heinous crime and telling sign of cultural infantilism to do otherwise.

13 comments

Of course,if Hunt truly wants to help out women,there's one are where he's well-placed to Do His Bit.
He can either resign right now,or announce that he won't stand again next year,thus making way for one of Labour's man-free shortlists.
It's still not absolutely clear why Hunt (the feminist) tried to force himself on three constituencies-two others rejected him before Stoke was forced to swallow the pill-when he knew he wasn't a woman.Not only wasn't he female,and therefore needing special support/discrimination,but he was White,and fairly posh.Well very posh.Public school,wasn't it?Why wasn't he seen as a class-enemy and an oppressor of women?

Well said,Stars-stripes.And no,I don't want a Minister for Men or a quota for children allowed to see their dad after the parents split,I merely want to see justice carried out ******bly,I'd just like social services to realise that they aren't meant to be The Female Revenge Squad.

What about equality in education here ? Why is a person more likely to get a university education if female? Why are white working class boys the worst performers in schools? Why do so many boys have ADHD? Why is the largest cause of death for men under thirty suicide? Tristram Hunt has enough problems in this country to sort out without poking his nose into Africa's second wealthiest countries affairs shocking as it is that a terrorist group can kidnap 400 girls and then that countries government not do anything about it for weeks! Perhaps if Nigeria's very wealthy citizens paid tax on their unearned income and redistributed its wealth Nigeria would not be home to so many terrorist groups

This is how you make everyone believe they are victims. If we are all victims then we can all shirk our responsibility and let someone else make those choices for us, this is what our leaders want, control.
The confusing thing though is that so many people in the UK are prepared to be victims. They are prepared to give up their freedoms and voluntarily enter slavery. When you see what advantages of being a victim gains though I suppose it is understandable. Being a victim means special treatment above those who aren't victims. Victims get their own quotas which gets them perks others don't get. It also allows ethnic minorities to get preferential treatment in their job search. You can also have people arrested by simply saying 'you are a victim of someone else's criticism'. So we have all forms of debate stifled and with this silence they assume we agree with their form of fascism and so it empowers them to victimize themselves even more.
This is part of the movement towards ending man.s masculinity and getting rid of the need for man to be a father to his children. The destruction of the family unit and our children's future will be complete if we allow this to happen.

The incidence of sexual harassment increases in Britain every day-if you believe the statistics.Luckily,there's a great deal of manipulation at work,with the parameters and definitions of harassment widened each week.
Were it not so,there would be good reason to argue for the segregation of the sexes on traditional lines.I'd imagine that quite a lot of or archaic cultures around the world are saying "You see?England is a cesspit!All women are raped there because they leave their homes unaccompanied!".
There are agenda at work here,not least the notion that men are inherently evil and untrustworthy.It's not just women who are keen on this,by any means,but wait until the men who push this notion get falsely accused of rape or domestic violence,and do they change their tunes.

What has happened is wrong but is it really our problem? We get condemned if we do nothing and if we went in with guns blazing, as I think we should, we would get condemned for that by the very same people. The only way to rwally deal with these people is the use of force. Find the nest and exterminate them including those at home. But we know that our politicians can't win the war because their masters don't want to. The longer these so called threats to liberty and freedom go on then the easier it is to impose our governments will upon us. They erase our common laws with draconian laws in the name of freedom, but whose freedom? Our leaders have succoured up to these Islamic terrorist believing they could rely on their support only for them too laugh at the weekness that infects the European peoples. The infection being the political elite who have all but destroyed the indigenous nation's of Europes right too self govern themselves.

Good question,MusicHallFan.(Nice one if you are,by the way.A music hall fan,I mean).
After waiting a year for Hunt to reply,I received a reply from Gareth Snell,telling me that Stoke council never makes any mistakes,and that I was entirely wrong.I suspect it was really written by the council department itself,and passed-off as Hunt-Snell's.Luckily,the Ombudsman took up our case and found in our favour,though the Sentinel didn't cover the decision.Our one and only councillor,Jackie Barnes,was equally useless/indifferent.
If you are desperate enough to seek help from these characters,try the following:
(1)Ask for updates.Hunt wouldn't provide any.Instead of asking each time "The council said this happened...Is that true?",we got told all the time to leave it to him.Then we got the email giving the council's rebuttal as The Word of God,the final word.
(2)Try to see the correspondence.I've tried under the Freedom of Information Act,but the council won't even send an application form.I must get in touch with my councillor and my MP.
(3)Try to get an expression of support from these people.Hunt won't show the same response about some abuse happening here as he will over something safely several thousand miles away,where he can have no influence.
Children's Services were put into Special Measures a few years ago because it removed too many kids through the courts?And you think that those kids should have an apology? Nah.Hunt says that this abuse was 'historical' and should not be investigated.Hell of an attitude.